Xiao shi de ta

Such a recent hit in mainland, and I guess it's more of a trendy success more than anything else. The general framework seems to be inspired by The Invisible Guest, yet the mystery not as intricate and the story not as convincing. The former issue being some of the events, scenes, and shots overly dramatized by the sound effect or cinematography, while the latter due to the overall mediocre performances. Also, the ending is stacked with a superfluous amount of twists and twines, which simply reflects some of the logical errors prior. It seems that the intention of the movie is quite clear: to tell a convoluted mystery from an intriguing perspective with a justified moral.

As a lover of thrillers, suspense, and mind puzzles in general, I usually see the surprises coming. It was an extreme pleasure and delight to find that this film kept me guessing, kept me rapt with attention, and made the experience thrilling from start to finish.

A note regarding the casting, which was stellar: Zhu Yilong is an actor with tremendous range who I would watch do anything, anytime, under any condition, and his development as He Fei is mesmerizing, and Ni Ni as lawyer Chen Mai, who had not been on my radar previously, subtly guiles you as she gets pulled into her client's case.

This is absolutely the definition of summer blockbuster and I'll be seeing it again.

It has been a very long while since last time I 'wowed' a suspense movie, and I am so glad the wait is over. Lost in the Stars takes suspense to the extreme, and even beyond. No matter if you guess it right or not, you will enjoy the process of finding the answer - isn't that suspense all about? With that said, Lost in the Stars has many a twists that lead to a surprise for closure.

The movie started with a missing person case, the wife of the lead character, He Fei (Zhu Yilong), vanished into thin air, during their trip to southeast Asia. He Fei desperately tried to find his wife, and suffered dearly, only to face a stranger (Janice Man) who insisted being his wife. He Fei found himself entangled in a web of plots and conspiracies, or did he really? Of course, there was a second as beautiful woman, Chen Mai (Ni Ni), who was capable of everything, came to rescue, or did she really? So, fasten your seatbelt and you will need it. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns.

Director/producer Chen Sicheng, known for his suspense crime movies, such as Sheep Without a Shepherd, brought forth another classic. For a story following a main character, we have a 50-50 chance of getting it right, for he is most likely either 'innocent' or 'bad'. However, this suspense dug into something deeper than that, taking a serious look at human nature and relationships.

We are often under the impression that suspense movies are mostly 'commercially oriented', acting may not be their 'big thing'. Well, not necessarily. Looking back there were plenty of award-worthy/winning performances in history, just to name a few, Edward Norton in Primal Fear, Kevin Spacey in the Usual Suspect, Nicole Kidman in the Others... - I know, it has been a good while. Again, I am glad the wait is over. For people who know a little bit about Zhu Yilong, you may remember his leading role in Un Certain Regard selected Only the River Flows at Canne Film Festival that just wrapped. It is safe to say he only chooses 'acting-worthy' or 'acting-challenging' characters. He Fei is no exception, if not an 'extreme'. There are many faces of the character, where he was a loving husband, an abused tourist, a doubtful client, a person with a neural disorder, and more, or was he really any of the above? Zhu Yilong gave a convincing performance, not only fully developed, but also multiple layered, for each face this guy had. There was a very difficult facial twitch that likely will be symbolic (you can try to see how difficult it is), however that's only the surface. Human nature's complexity was portrayed with depth and power, that leaves the audience to ponder and reflect.

No matter you are just in for a good thrill, or you look for inspiration and thought provoking complexities, you will enjoy this ride.

At the start, this is quite an intriguing drama. "He Fei" (Yilong Zhu) and his wife "Li Muzi" seem to be getting along nicely until she disappears. He is in despair until a woman appears asserting that she is the missing woman - and he is certain that she is not his wife. This lady (Janice Man) is adamant, and when he seeks police assistance she is able to prove her identity with videos, photos and friends who corroborate her story. Is he just losing the plot, or might something more sinister be afoot? Fortunately for our increasingly hapless hero, a local lawyer/investigator "Chen Mai" (Ni Ni) decides that she is going to help him out and the more they dig, the more confusion they discover. To be fair, the plot is anything but simple - it has plenty of twists and turns, but I rather lost interest in him as a character and the plot gradually became a bit too convoluted. There just aren't enough clues for us to follow, we learn at the same rate as them and that left me in limbo for too much of this two hour drama. The ending has a quirkiness to it, but the characterisations are too weak and the story too thin to make it worth the wait. It's a sort of grudge/retribution story - but for way too long I didn't know why or whom by. It is watchable, and the acting is OK, but I doubt I will recall much about this next week.

No pun intended - and not really connected with Gone Girl (if you've seen the movie or read the book - there is a book, right? There has to be). This quite twisty movie has you guessing what is right and what is wrong. Who and where characters are trying to lead us. There may be some traps along the way (again no pun intended) and I am not sure what you may think of the ending ... but the movie dares to go places that ... well you may not expect.

That said, it doesn't mean you won't be able to guess where the movie wants you to go. Interestingly enough, the movie seems to hit a spot - at least in London. About 10 screenings - all sold out! So they must be doing something right ... well told and all that ... if you are into that sort of stuff.